Page 26 of The Asylum
“I’m Detective Hayden Maines. I’m here for what you’ve found, but there’s a problem. Last night, several of my men were…” Maines broke off and appeared uncomfortable.
“Yes?” I pushed.
“They saw ghosts,” he admitted and shrugged.
“Wonder if they were the same ones we saw,” I remarked to Sunny.
“Possibly, but according to Harry, multiple spirits have been seen,” Sunny replied.
“The point is, I also witnessed them, and we can’t dispute what we saw. My team is refusing to return tonight unless there is someone with them,” Maines stated.
“What do you mean, somebody is with them?” Sunny asked.
“Look, I believe in ghosts, okay. Some of my team do, and some don’t. However, they are all spooked, including the nonbelievers. Nobody wants to set foot back there without some reassurances,” Maines said.
“Such as a semi-famous investigator and an exorcist?” I inquired, and Maines nodded.
“Not a problem from where I’m standing, but it does leave Harry monitoring the cameras alone, and there are a lot of them.” Harry would be overwhelmed, and I was wondering who to leave with him.
“Could a police officer help?” Maines offered, and I looked at him.
“Huh?”
“If I give you someone who’s used to watching cameras for unusual events, would that help?”
“Yup, definitely. But it needs to be a believer. A nonbeliever would dismiss much of the activity without consideration. If a believer spots something, we can then investigate it and debunk it, if need be,” I stated.
“I have someone I can call. I already sounded them out earlier,” Maines said.
“Sure, go ahead. Tell them to come in normal day clothes, though, unless you want your officer filmed. They’d also have to sign a release,” I replied.
“Officer Maines would have no issues with that; she loves your show.” Maines smiled.
“Your wife?” Sunny asked.
“Sister, younger—and a pain in my ass,” Maines reported with the depth of feeling only a brother would have.
“Tell her welcome to the team. Would you like to join us for the planning?”
“Sure, it would be great to see behind the scenes.”
???
As we ate breakfast, which bemused Maines, I broke the teams down again.
“Okay, we’ve got several issues. One thing we need to do is find the list in Lawson’s apartment. For that, I’m going to recruit Ashford and leave Merrick here as security. Jack, can you go with Ashford and help search? Filming will be awkward, but we’ll make do.”
“Callie, I can provide another officer,” Maines offered, and everyone looked to him.
“This is Detective Hayden Maines. He’s asked us to help with the cemetery, which is why we’ve got a change of plans. Can you spare someone?” I inquired hopefully.
“Yes, I’ve a cousin, River, who is a good cop and loves stuff like this. He’ll be stoked to join in,” Maines said, pulling out his phone and tapping out a message.
“Okay, Ashford, Jack, and River can go back to Lawson’s apartment and find the hiding place. Take equipment, at least another Ovilus, and some of the motion light balls. The spirits may shove them in the direction you need to search in.
“Connor, take Bunny and Freddie and investigate the infirmary again. Try to get the attention of the nurse and the shadow figure. I know you caught a glimpse of him, but we all got distracted last night,” I said with a glare at Magic.
Magic had the grace to look abashed.
